Tuesday, April 19, 2011

There is no Mass on Good Friday and there is no Mass in heaven

Ecce lignum crucis, in quo salus mundi pependit

Why
is there no Mass on Good Friday? We discussed this question last
year, but there is still much fruit to be gained from a further study of
the issue. First, we must point out that Good Friday is the one day in the
entire Church year when Mass may not be celebrated. This should be somewhat surprising,
since that day is the commemoration of the central historical event of the Mass –
the sacrifice of the Cross. Of all the days to offer the sacrifice of the Mass,
one might reasonably presume that Good Friday would be at the top of the list.

In
order to understand this question, one must recognize that the Eucharist is a
sacrament and, therefore, is a sign and symbol and figure (though it is most
certainly not a mere sign or symbol
or figure). Precisely because the Eucharist is a sacrament, it is a sacrifice. On
this point, we refer readers to our
recent article in which we discuss what makes the Mass to be a sacrifice.
Our claim in the current article will be that, because the Eucharistic sacrifice
is a sacramental sacrifice (and hence is a figure, though not a mere figure), the Mass is not offered on
Good Friday.

Moreover,
as we will see, it is on account of the sacramental nature of the Mass that the
Eucharist will not exist in heaven. There will be no Mass in heaven for the
same reason that there is no Mass on Good Friday. However, the mere fact that
there will be no Mass in heaven does not mean that there is no liturgy in
heaven – indeed, the heavenly liturgy is the most perfect form of worship.
Likewise, although the sacrifice of the Mass is not offered on Good Friday, the
liturgical commemoration of the Lord’s Passion brings us into an even more
perfect participation in the sacrifice of the Cross.

Why the Mass is not offered
on Good Friday

St.
Thomas discusses this question and says: “The figure ceases on the advent of
the reality. But this sacrament is a figure and a representation of our Lord's
Passion, as stated above. And therefore on the day on which our Lord's Passion
is recalled as it was really accomplished, this sacrament is not consecrated.” (ST
III, q.83, a.2, ad 2)

Precisely
because the Mass is a sacrament, it is a sign (not a mere sign, but a sign which contains a reality). However, in the commemoration
of the Passion on Friday of Holy Week, the reality of the sacrifice is
presented to the faithful not as a sacrament (i.e. not through the Mass) but “as
it was really accomplished.” The Good Friday liturgy is, in fact, a more
perfect re-presentation of the
sacrifice of the Cross than is the Eucharistic liturgy. The Catholic faithful
are more perfectly united to Calvary on Good Friday than they are by the
offering of the Mass on any other day of the year.

Not
of course, that there is anything lacking in the Eucharistic sacrifice offered
every other day; but the Church, on Good Friday, recalls (with a special
efficacy) the Lord’s Passion in its reality
and not in its figure. Through the
sacrament of the Eucharist, the very reality of the Cross is truly and really
present under the figure of the sacrament – for, just as Christ’s blood poured
forth from his body as he was pierced upon the Cross, so too the body and blood
of Christ are sacramentally separated upon the altar during the Mass. There is
no defect in the Eucharistic sacrifice: It is real and true, as a sacramental
reality (and the sacraments are certainly real).

Still,
on Good Friday, the sacrifice of the Cross is offered and commemorated not as a
sacrament (that is, not as a figure or sign), but in the reality of its proper
species – “as it was really accomplished.” Thus, just as the figure passes away
in the advent of the reality, the Church does not offer the sacrifice of the
Mass at the Good Friday commemoration of our Lord’s Passion.

There is no Mass in heaven

For
a similar reason, there is no Mass in heaven. Certainly, there is a liturgy in
heaven (just as there is a liturgy on Good Friday), but the sacrament of the
Eucharist is not celebrated there.

The
worship of the Church on earth is under the form of figures – namely, the
sacraments. Certainly, the sacraments are also realities: They are both sign
(or figure) and reality, res and sacramentum. Yet, in heaven, the figure
will pass away before the reality. In this regard, we may look again to St.
Thomas:

“In
this state of the Blessed, then, nothing in regard to worship of God will be
figurative; there will be naught but thanksgiving
and voice of praise (Isaiah 51:3). Hence it is written concerning the city of
the Blessed (Apocalypse 21:22): I saw no
temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty is the temple thereof, and the Lamb.”
(ST I-II, q.103, a.3)

Thus,
heaven is the fulfillment of the Mass; and therefore the Eucharistic liturgy
will no longer be offered, for even the sacraments themselves will pass away.
In the glory of life everlasting we will no longer receive Christ under the
veil and figure of the sacrament, but we will be spiritually united to him in
the most perfect manner through charity. The sacramental species shall pass
away in the presence of the proper species: Christ’s glorified body, no longer
in figure, but in fulfilled reality.

After 62 years since I was born and baptized a Catholic, After so many years of catechism, service in the church as altar boy in the V.O. and lector in the N.O., only now that I read the posts in this blog I can say that I have a much clearer picture of the sacraments, most especially the eucharist and of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.I offer my dayly prayers for the creators and keepers of this blog. May God richly bless you all.

Thanks for this post. One question: is it strictly true that Mass cannot be celebrated at all on GF with no exceptions?

I ask because I have heard from a knowledgeable person that at least traditionally, if someone was in extremis and there was no access to the reserved Sacrament, a priest could celebrate a votive Mass of the Passion on GF in order to be able to give viaticum.

Okay, I have to ask...do you know where the picture in this article was taken? What I see is identical to the high altar in my cathedral, except that our cathedra is in front of our old tabernacle. :-(

@Chatto,It is very hard to point to any one element as the "commemoration of the passion as it was really accomplished" ... It would be more than simply the actions of the proclamation of the Lord's Passion and the Veneration of the Cross -- it is tied with the liturgical calendar as well ... reading the Passion and Venerating the Cross on any other day would not be the same ... It is hard to say, and I am not really sure what the right answer is. But the liturgical year is certainly a key element.

Regarding the graces of Good Friday -- we do receive the sacramental grace through receiving the Eucharist; but there is additional grace given through the veneration of the Cross on this particular day. These additional grace are not sacramental (for they do not rely on figure, but on the pure reality)...

Many good things to think about! I hope that a good Dominican Thomist will write a book about this some day! :)

Dev,I do not know of any rubrical directive on this point ... certainly, it would seem that the giving of viaticum would be extremely important.As I am a dogmatist and not a liturgist or historian, I really cannot give a good answer to the question.Peace! +

@Donda7,Spero che posso resepondere in englese...In the traditional Mass, the chasuble is not used, but only the cope (piviale). The traditional Mass was actually very very complicated -- switching between black and violet, and putting on and taking off the copes...

Still, the chasuble is not totally illogical in the sense that the Good Friday commemoration is not "less" than Mass, but "more"...hence, we are even more perfectly united to the Sacrifice; thus, it could make sense to wear the chasuble.

Still, I do agree that there is much to be said for the older practice of using the cope.

I don't know what directives might be in force today, but I know under the the liturgical law in force in the middle of the XXth century a priest could celebrate Mass on Good Friday if he needed to consecrate Hosts for Viaticum. I believe he had to offer the Votive Mass of the Sacred Heart, but I could be mistaken about that (it was a particular Votive Mass - he did not have a choice of which Mass to celebrate). You can find the exact answer in Jone if you have it handy (I don't).

There is also a penitential aspect to the "Eucharistic fast" on Great Friday. The Mass is not celebrated because it is a penitential day, not a celebration of the Resurrection and of the conquest of sin and death.

Greek Catholics do not celebrate Liturgy on any weekday in Great Lent, for this reason - we have a "Liturgy of the Presanctified" administering Communion consecrated on the previous Sunday, which as I understand is the Roman custom for Good Friday today.